West Coast New Zealand

A key result shows that 40% of Coast children between School Years 5 and 8 have reached above average and outstanding levels in reading comprehension. That means four out of every ten pupils are achieving significantly higher than pupils of the same age in the rest of the country. Students are 6 months ahead of where they would be expected to be after three years teaching.

Reading comprehension Years 5 - 8

Prof Stuart McNaughton said the differences are the direct result of teaching practice in the classroom. It is also important to note that 573 children were followed for three years and different year levels all made the significant 6 months above expected average – which signals a high level of effective teaching.

 Writing Achievement Years 5 - 8

Another key result shows that 75% of Coast children between Years 5 and 8 are in the middle band or above for writing, well above the national average. About 50% are writing significantly above average bands.  The programme overall was equally effective for Maori students as any other students. They made similar gains over time and their achievement levels were as high as other students in writing. The programme was more effective for girls who achieved higher than boys at all times.

Transition to School

Every six months, between 90 and 150 children start school on the West Coast, and they are ABOVE AVERAGE in understanding concepts about books and print, and SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE AVERAGE in the number of letters they can identify.

They can identify about 5 letters more than average which at that level is an important indicator of literacy. “But what we can say is that children are beginning school well ahead of the national average in the literacy indicators that we measured, and it is clear that major efforts have been made to enhance literacy in all aspects of their activities,” Prof McNaughton said. “We have been very impressed with the high level of interest and interaction the teachers have given us, and we value their feedback.”